Clean and White
by LeonaWriter
Summary: He'd crashed on a planet covered in ice. Run from monsters, and found a future version of Spock. And then a man with blue skin, unaffected by the cold.
1. Clean and White

Clean and White

...

"I used to hate ice."

They were the first words Jim had heard the alien man say, and given that Spock - future Spock? Past Spock? Older, anyway - hadn't even told him his name when the two evidently knew each other, was saying something.

"Huh. Notice you're making pretty nifty use of the stuff now," he said absently. He'd also noticed the frequent looks he'd been given when the blue guy didn't think he was watching.

"I said that I used to. That implies a certain amount of past tense, agreed?"

Jim smirked at the dry tone, ironically reminded more of the Spock who'd cast him off the Enterprise than the one nearby.

"Yeah? What happened to change that, then?"

The man frowned, looking into the distance without seeing anything. Jim, used to the differences between alien races from a young age, wasn't put off by the blue colouration, in fact the guy was more humanoid than some of the people he'd met with on a regular basis back at the Academy.

"Everyone left, eventually. Sooner or later, they died. Or left. Even when they said that they never would." And for some reason, blue guy was fixing his red eyes on him. Right on him. "Suddenly, everything that I had gone through, that I had reached for, seemed petty."

"So... what? You go somewhere you don't like?"

He didn't really get the logic.

"No, I went home."

Jim's eyebrows shot up at that.

"Home? This - this, is home? Uh... nice place you got here."

Red eyes met his, and after a moment of trying to stay serious, they both started to laugh.

Once they'd calmed down again, he looked first at the blue guy, and then in the direction of where Older Spock was.

"Hey, why'd you think he left us alone together?"

For the first time, blue hesitated, and those red eyes faltered, before gazing stonily at the monotonous, white path ahead of them.

"Likely," came the clipped tones, "because he thought that I might tell you of your father."

That got Jim's attention.

"Wait, you knew my dad?"

"At the moment I'm unsure whether the past or present tense would be more fitting, but... he should have known better. We were never truly on the best of terms." Jim snorted. Just his luck. "And then he went and did something incredibly stupid and very... _him_. And I don't know if we ever will be again."

Oh. Right. Great.

That kind of thing. Like the kind of thing that was hanging between him and Spock - the younger Spock, the one he knew - right now.

"Sorry, I- I never caught your name...?"

One side of the man's blue mouth quirked up in a bitter smile.

"Loki. Just Loki. And regardless how else you may know this place, you are currently standing on the ice of Jotunheim. Land of the Frost Giants."

...

AN: This is what comes of watching Star Trek '09 when having been roleplaying Loki. And then Jim lands on that icy planet. And then this. Which would not leave me alone.


	2. From Out of the Blue

Jim was walking the halls of Starfleet, in the process of fetching the last of his things and already in uniform. The mission had been a success - apart from the obvious - and Earth had been saved. Nero had been defeated, and they'd all gone home, although the Enterprise had needed a little help in order to get up to speed, having ejected a good amount of their fuel just to get free of the black hole.

By the time they'd reached Earth again, Jim had been surprised to find not only Scotty's little engineer friend, but also a couple of other familiar faces. Spock, he'd expected - he'd hardly thought the old Vulcan would stay on the icy planet whatever-it-was-called for long - but the blue guy who'd turned out to be called Loki? Not so much. The guy had opted to stay behind with Spock when he and Scotty had made their way back to the Enterprise, and had given no inclination toward ever going off planet. So the fact that he'd been there, looking at the same time oddly nostalgic and out of place in his blue skin and non-standard, non-Starfleet getup.

They'd talked, during which one of them had suggested that Loki join Jim's new crew, which he was allowed (within reason) to choose for himself, and they had, at some point, decided that it would be a good idea. Loki had revealed that he was far more than just some random inhabitant of Delta Vega - sorry, Jotunheim - and might, possibly, carry a bit of political weight. The fact that they actually got on for the most part helped, too.

All of which lead to right now, heading in the direction of his rooms in his new uniform and still revelling in the colour, and the overall newness of them, when he was stopped by a large shadow detaching itself from the wall and placing itself in his way.

"James T. Kirk."

Jim backed up a step. The man was tall, dark skinned, and dressed in black from head to foot. And he was wearing a leather duster coat. Jim, on principle, had nothing against black leather coats, but the last person he'd met who had worn one had also been trying to kill him, so he was currently, against his own wishes, somewhat prejudiced against them. He would try, however, to not allow this to affect his judgement.

"That would be me," he said anyway, duly noting that the stranger was sizing him up with the one eye he had, although who knew what he was looking for, or what he was seeing. "And- just so you know? I think there should be a 'Captain' in there now."

"Right," the man said, more amused than anything in a way that reminded him of only two other people he'd ever met. "Well, 'Captain' Kirk, I was wondering if I could ask you a question."

That was all? "Go ahead." He'd had plenty of people coming up to him to ask anything from what it was like to save the world, to whether he was ready for the stress of command. But he didn't need to tell them that.

"What I would like to know is, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Okay, that was unexpected. "Because from what I heard, you're letting Loki, the one made sure there was always a _need_ for the Avengers, not only onto your spaceship, but on the _crew roster?_"

"Now, that's funny. Because I don't know who you are, and if I don't know who you are, then you don't have any say over who I put on my crew one way or the other. "

"I don't think you know who you're dealing with, captain."

"Oh, I think I do. Or at least, more of an idea than you're giving me credit for."

"_Captain_. With all due respect, Loki is a danger to whoever he associates himself with, and wherever it is he chooses to go-"

The man cut himself off, scowling over Jim's shoulder. "You."

With footsteps coming up from behind them, Jim turned around, and was mildly surprised to find that Loki was rapidly approaching them, his skin no longer blue but a far more pale human tone. It was definitely him, though - the clothes were still of the same style and predominantly green and black, features unchanged apart from his eyes, which had also changed colour from red to green.

"Director Fury. What an unexpected pleasure, after all of these years." The tone was somewhat condescending, a familiarity born of having known the other person for a very long time and learned over that same long time exactly how to press the other's buttons. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything of any great importance."

Fury looked like he was trying to live up to his name, one visible eye narrowing. "I suppose you think you're being clever."

Loki's smile only grew wider, albeit one that showed no teeth. It wasn't any less creepy for it, though.

"You merely suppose? I am wounded. Perhaps you do not know me so well. I have nothing in mind of the sort that I am sure you were just now warning my... dear captain about." There was a hesitation. Jim knew people, and he knew misdirection, and that had been an obvious one. Loki just ploughed on, however, spreading his hands to either side. "I offered to accompany the Enterprise in a purely diplomatic position... a signal, as it were, of the peace that Jotunheim offers to Asgard and, now, to Midgard. To Earth."

"Forgive me for saying so, but 'peace' isn't a word I usually associate with you."

"Remind me which of the two of us has been a king for over half a century? I think I know more on the subject than what you would associate with me. And do not attempt to suggest that our roles are worthy of comparison; I know who you are, and what you are."

Jim looks between the two, and then suddenly Loki smiles, a frigid thing that doesn't reach his eyes yet still manages to break some of the tension they'd built up in the hall.

"If you'll be needing me, you will be able to reach me by contacting the Enterprise. However, should you need to discuss anything with Jotunheim without me, you may put your trust in my brother."

Loki made to move past Fury, whose expression had become indiscernible. Jim, instead of following after and escaping the situation, waited, curious to see what would happen next.

"Your brother's dead."

Okay, not what he was expecting.

Clearly, not what Loki had been expecting, either, since he froze in the middle of the hall for several seconds, before turning back around to face Fury. Jim didn't like the look on the man's face, but it was not, he'd imagine, that different from his own when someone reminded him of those he'd lost. Like, say, his old man.

"I am all too well aware of Thor's passing, Director Fury. I have more than one brother. Now - if you will excuse me."

And with that, he left. Jim, not wanting to be caught by the man in the long black coat again, sprinted the short way after him.

"Wait, you never said you'd had a brother!"

"I did, then I did not, and now he is no more. It truly does not matter any longer."

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it! I just-" Jim sighed, becoming a little more serious. "I guess we've both lost someone, right?"

Loki's eyebrows raised. "...Yes. Highly coincidental, that."

Jim didn't understand what he meant.

...

AN: Whooooo~ So. This is a sort of follow-up to Clean and White. I tried to bridge the events as well as I could, but I'm not sure how well I did - especially since I have a lot of headcanon and not so much actual fanfic.

Plot relevance: Yes, this is the first time Jim's seen Loki's Asgardian skin tone. Also, Jim still hasn't been let in on who, exactly, his father was...

And yes, Loki HAS just said that he's King of Jotunheim. In case some of you thought you'd misread.


End file.
